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[House Report 109-352]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]

                                                 Union Calendar No. 193
109th Congress                                                   Report
 1st Session            HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES                109-352
_______________________________________________________________________

 
 THE METHAMPHETAMINE EPIDEMIC: INTERNATIONAL ROOTS OF THE PROBLEM, AND 
                         RECOMMENDED SOLUTIONS

                               __________

                             FOURTH REPORT

                                 by the

                     COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENT REFORM

                                     

                                     

  Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.gpoaccess.gov/congress/
                               index.html
                      http://www.house.gov/reform

 December 16, 2005.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on 
            the State of the Union and ordered to be printed

                                 ______

                     U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
                            WASHINGTON : 2005
49-006 PDF

                     COMMITTEE ON GOVERNMENT REFORM

                     TOM DAVIS, Virginia, Chairman
CHRISTOPHER SHAYS, Connecticut       HENRY A. WAXMAN, California
DAN BURTON, Indiana                  TOM LANTOS, California
ILEANA ROS-LEHTINEN, Florida         MAJOR R. OWENS, New York
JOHN M. McHUGH, New York             EDOLPHUS TOWNS, New York
JOHN L. MICA, Florida                PAUL E. KANJORSKI, Pennsylvania
GIL GUTKNECHT, Minnesota             CAROLYN B. MALONEY, New York
MARK E. SOUDER, Indiana              ELIJAH E. CUMMINGS, Maryland
STEVEN C. LaTOURETTE, Ohio           DENNIS J. KUCINICH, Ohio
TODD RUSSELL PLATTS, Pennsylvania    DANNY K. DAVIS, Illinois
CHRIS CANNON, Utah                   WM. LACY CLAY, Missouri
JOHN J. DUNCAN, Jr., Tennessee       DIANE E. WATSON, California
CANDICE S. MILLER, Michigan          STEPHEN F. LYNCH, Massachusetts
MICHAEL R. TURNER, Ohio              CHRIS VAN HOLLEN, Maryland
DARRELL E. ISSA, California          LINDA T. SANCHEZ, California
JON C. PORTER, Nevada                C.A. DUTCH RUPPERSBERGER, Maryland
KENNY MARCHANT, Texas                BRIAN HIGGINS, New York
LYNN A. WESTMORELAND, Georgia        ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON, District of 
PATRICK T. McHENRY, North Carolina       Columbia
CHARLES W. DENT, Pennsylvania                    ------
VIRGINIA FOXX, North Carolina        BERNARD SANDERS, Vermont 
JEAN SCHMIDT, Ohio                       (Independent)
------ ------

                    Melissa Wojciak, Staff Director
       David Marin, Deputy Staff Director/Communications Director
                     Keith Ausbrook, Chief Counsel
                  Rob Borden, Parliamentarian/Counsel
                       Teresa Austin, Chief Clerk
          Phil Barnett, Minority Chief of Staff/Chief Counsel

   Subcommittee on Criminal Justice, Drug Policy, and Human Resources

                   MARK E. SOUDER, Indiana, Chairman
PATRICK T. McHenry, North Carolina   ELIJAH E. CUMMINGS, Maryland
DAN BURTON, Indiana                  BERNARD SANDERS, Vermont
JOHN L. MICA, Florida                DANNY K. DAVIS, Illinois
GIL GUTKNECHT, Minnesota             DIANE E. WATSON, California
STEVEN C. LaTOURETTE, Ohio           LINDA T. SANCHEZ, California
CHRIS CANNON, Utah                   C.A. DUTCH RUPPERSBERGER, Maryland
CANDICE S. MILLER, Michigan          MAJOR R. OWENS, New York
VIRGINIA FOXX, North Carolina        ELEANOR HOLMES NORTON, District of 
JEAN SCHMIDT, Ohio                       Columbia

                               Ex Officio

TOM DAVIS, Virginia                  HENRY A. WAXMAN, California
            J. Marc Wheat, Staff Director and Chief Counsel
                         Nick Coleman, Counsel
                           Malia Holst, Clerk
                Julian Anthony Haywood, Minority Counsel

                         LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL

                              ----------                              

                                  House of Representatives,
                                 Washington, DC, December 16, 2005.
Hon. J. Dennis Hastert,
Speaker of the House of Representatives,
Washington, DC.
    Dear Mr. Speaker: By direction of the Committee on 
Government Reform, I submit herewith the committee's fourth 
report to the 109th Congress. The committee's report is based 
on a study conducted by its Subcommittee on Criminal Justice, 
Drug Policy, and Human Resources.
                                                 Tom Davis,
                                                          Chairman.

                                 (iii)

                            C O N T E N T S

                              ----------                              
                                                                   Page
Executive Summary................................................     1
Methamphetamine: An Overview.....................................     2
The Consequences of Meth Abuse...................................     2
Sources of Methamphetamine.......................................     3
Meth Precursors: Fuel for the Fire...............................     4
Squeezing the Balloon: Why U.S. Anti-Meth Strategy Needs an 
  International Component........................................     5
Recommendations..................................................     5
    Executive....................................................     5
    Legislative..................................................     6
Conclusion.......................................................     7

                                  (v)

  
                                                 Union Calendar No. 193
109th Congress                                                   Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 1st Session                                                    109-352

=======================================================================

 THE METHAMPHETAMINE EPIDEMIC: INTERNATIONAL ROOTS OF THE PROBLEM, AND 
                         RECOMMENDED SOLUTIONS

                                _______
                                

 December 16, 2005.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on 
            the State of the Union and ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

   Mr. Davis, from the Committee on Government Reform submitted the 
                               following

                             FOURTH REPORT

    On December 15, 2005, the Committee on Government Reform 
approved and adopted a report entitled, ``The Methamphetamine 
Epidemic: International Roots of the Problem, and Recommended 
Solutions.'' The chairman was directed to transmit a copy to 
the Speaker of the House.

                           Executive Summary

    Of the many drug threats facing our Nation, few can compare 
in their growth or destructiveness to methamphetamine abuse. 
The methamphetamine problem has grown at a dramatic rate; in 
the words of U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, ``meth is 
now the most dangerous drug in America.''\1\ According to 
surveys conducted by the National Association of Counties, meth 
is now the No. 1 drug problem for the majority (58 percent) of 
county law enforcement agencies, and the drug is having far-
reaching impacts on child welfare services.\2\
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    \1\Prepared Remarks of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, National 
District Attorneys Association meeting, Portland, ME, July 18, 2005.
    \2\National Association of Counties surveys: ``The Impact of Meth 
on Children: Out of Home Placement'' and ``The Criminal Effect of Meth 
on Communities,'' July 5, 2005.
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    Although a great deal of attention has been paid to the 
local production of meth in small, clandestine (or ``clan'') 
laboratories, the majority of the U.S. supply of illegal meth 
is now believed to come from Mexico, or is controlled by 
Mexican drug trafficking organizations. Moreover, virtually all 
of the world's supply of the major meth precursor chemical--
pseudoephedrine--is manufactured overseas, in only relatively 
few factories. As such, meth is as much an international 
problem as it is a local problem.
    This report, the first report by the committee on the 
methamphetamine problem, focuses on this international aspect 
of the epidemic. Building on the oversight work done by the 
Subcommittee on Criminal Justice, Drug Policy, and Human 
Resources since 2001, this report describes how the 
international trade in precursor chemicals fuels the large-
scale foreign production of the meth that poisons our local 
communities.\3\ The report also points the way toward solutions 
that may help dramatically reduce the supply of this most 
dangerous drug.
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    \3\The subcommittee has held 11 hearings on methamphetamine 
trafficking and abuse since Representative Mark Souder (R-IN) became 
chairman in 2001, including 7 field hearings outside Washington, DC.
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                      Methamphetamine: An Overview

    Methamphetamine, commonly referred to as ``meth,'' is among 
the most powerful and dangerous stimulants available. Referred 
to by many names, such as ``speed,'' ``meth,'' and ``chalk,'' 
meth is a derivative of amphetamine that severely impacts the 
central nervous system. The drug can be smoked, snorted, orally 
ingested, or injected. In powder form meth resembles granulated 
crystals, and in a rock form it is known as ``ice.''\4\
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    \4\See http://www.nida.nih.gov/Infofacts/methamphetamine.html (last 
visited Aug. 23, 2005).
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    Meth produces extremely powerful feelings of euphoria, 
increases energy, and reduces appetite. Smoking meth produces a 
high that lasts 8-24 hours compared to a 20-30 minute high 
produced by smoking cocaine.\5\ After the initial rush of 
intense feelings, users are prone to become highly agitated and 
nervous, which can lead to violent behaviors. Because the 
effects of meth are usually pleasurable at first, many users 
wish to repeat the experience, which is the beginning of a 
cycle of psychological addiction.
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    \5\See http://www.methamphetamineaddiction.com/methamphetamine--
meth.html (last visited Aug. 23, 2005).
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                     The Consequences of Meth Abuse

    Meth abuse takes a severe toll, not simply on the user, but 
on the entire community. Meth has particularly harmful 
consequences for children who spend time in the presence of 
parents or other adults who abuse the drug. Unlike abuse of 
most other drugs (including alcohol), meth abuse does not 
follow the typical paradigm of a single abuser within an 
enabling family. Instead, meth abuse is very frequently a 
``family affair'' in which both parents are addicts, leading to 
child neglect and abuse. According to one state child services 
official, this kind of meth abuse is ``the worst form of child 
endangerment that I have ever seen.''\6\
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    \6\Statement of Betsy Dunn, Child Protection Services, Tennessee 
Department of Children's Services.
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    Second, the increasing supply of meth has generated 
increasing numbers of meth addicts who then begin to 
manufacture meth in small, makeshift labs, primarily for 
personal use. The small-scale manufacture of meth in 
``clandestine'' labs involves the use of highly volatile 
chemicals and the labs generate significant quantities of 
highly toxic waste. Dangerous explosions are common, 
compounding the danger to children and relatives of meth 
``cooks,'' and finding, securing, and cleaning up meth lab 
sites consumes tremendous amounts of State and local resources.
    Finally, meth abuse fuels criminal conduct. According to 
the National Association of Counties, of 500 counties in the 
past year, 67 percent reported increases in meth related 
arrests. Counties in the Southwest reported particularly 
disturbing results, with 76 percent reporting such increases. 
Over half of the agencies surveyed stated that at least 1 in 5 
jail inmates are serving methamphetamine related sentences.\7\ 
In some Western cities, nearly one-third to one-half of 
arrestees for any crime test positive for meth; for example, in 
Honolulu, 40.3 percent of men jailed tested positive for 
methamphetamine in 2003.\8\
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    \7\National Association of Counties survey, ``The Criminal Effect 
of Meth on Communities,'' July 5, 2005.
    \8\Arrestee Drug Abuse Monitoring [ADAM] Program, 2004, National 
Institute of Justice.
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                       Sources of Methamphetamine

    Meth began as a West Coast phenomenon, with most use and 
production concentrated in a few cities in California and 
Hawaii. Use of the drug was spread in other Western states by 
motorcycle biker gangs during the 1980's. It was during the 
1990's, however, that the meth epidemic as we now know it began 
to take shape.
    That decade saw the development of two parallel currents in 
methamphetamine production and trafficking. First, neighborhood 
clandestine or small toxic labs [STL's] began to spread in 
response to the growing numbers of meth addicts. These labs 
rely on precursor chemicals obtained from retail stores--most 
notably the pseudoephedrine contained in most cold medicines. 
These STL's have continued to proliferate throughout the 
country, following the spread of methamphetamine abuse eastward 
and creating epidemic crime, environmental hazards, and social 
problems.
    Second, Mexican criminal organizations, based in Mexico and 
California, began to produce high-purity, low-cost 
methamphetamine in ``superlabs.'' These Mexican trafficking 
organizations have relied on their established networks for 
smuggling cocaine, heroin, and marijuana to spread crystal meth 
throughout the country. Today, it is estimated that over 70 
percent of the U.S. meth supply is controlled by these groups. 
These organizations have the additional advantage over their 
smaller competitors of being able to import huge quantities of 
precursor chemicals like pseudoephedrine. Increasing reliance 
on importation of precursors is a consequence of the fact that 
domestic acquisition of precursors has been sharply curtailed 
through tougher penalties and aggressive enforcement by DEA and 
other law enforcement agencies).
    Until just a few years ago, most of those illegal 
precursors came from Canada, which lacked any effective 
regulation. In fact, the Drug Enforcement Administration [DEA] 
and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police estimated that imports of 
pseudoephedrine to Canada were 14 times higher in 2001 than in 
1995, in response to congressional enactment of tougher 
precursor chemical controls in the mid-1990's.\9\ However, 
joint U.S.-Canadian law enforcement operations and increased 
Canadian regulation have led traffickers to shift their 
precursor chemical supply routes directly to Mexico. That has 
also resulted in a geographic shift of the superlabs from 
California to Mexico. According to the DEA, the number of 
superlabs seized in the United States dropped from 246 in 2001 
to only 55 in 2004.\10\
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    \9\See Chemical Diversion and Synthetic Drug Manufacture, joint 
report of the Office of International Intelligence, Drug Enforcement 
Administration and the Criminal Intelligence Directorate, Royal 
Canadian Mounted Police, http://www.usdoj.gov/dea/pubs/intel/
intel010621.html.
    \10\Testimony of Timothy J. Ogden, Assistant Special Agent in 
Charge, Chicago Field Division, Drug Enforcement Administration, before 
the Subcommittee on Criminal Justice, Drug Policy, and Human Resources, 
June 27, 2005.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    That shift of production from California to Mexico is a 
testament to the success of U.S. law enforcement agencies, but, 
paradoxically, it has made reducing the supply of meth more 
difficult. The Mexican superlabs are larger than their 
California counterparts, capable of producing multihundred-
pound quantities of methamphetamine per production cycle. By 
comparison, domestic data indicates that the largest reported 
methamphetamine laboratory seized in the United States in 2003 
was capable of producing only 50 pounds per production 
cycle.\11\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \11\See http://www.usdoj.gov/ndic/pubs11/12620/meth.htm (last 
visited Aug. 31, 2005).
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    Increased methamphetamine production in Mexico has, not 
surprisingly, led to increasing seizures of meth in Mexico and 
at U.S. ports of entry along the Southwest border. Data from 
the International Narcotics Control Strategy Report [INCSR] 
indicates that the amount of methamphetamine reported seized in 
Mexico increased from 400 kilograms in 2001, to 457 kilograms 
in 2002, and 652 kilograms in 2003.\12\ Furthermore, 2003 data 
shows that the amount of methamphetamine seized along the 
Southwest border increased from 1,130 kilograms in 2002, to 
1,733 kilograms in 2003, and 1,168 kilograms through July 
2004.\13\
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    \12\Id.
    \13\Id.
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                   Meth Precursors: Fuel for the Fire

    Most of our meth problem can be attributed to one simple 
fact: the United States and the international community have 
failed to set up an effective control system for 
pseudoephedrine and other precursor chemical products. Unlike 
meth, pseudoephedrine can't be made clandestinely--it can only 
be manufactured in large facilities using very sophisticated 
equipment. As a groundbreaking report by the Oregonian 
newspaper recently showed, only a few companies worldwide make 
the chemical, and virtually all of the world's supply comes 
from three countries: Germany, India, and China.\14\ As such, 
it would not be very difficult for the United States and its 
allies to get better control of the chemical and prevent its 
large-scale diversion.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \14\Suo, Steve, ``The Mexican Connection,'' the Oregonian, June 5, 
2005.
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    That hasn't happened, yet, however. Instead, huge amounts 
of pseudoephedrine products are being shipped all over the 
world, with little or no tracking or control. Many nations are 
importing far more than they can legitimately consume, meaning 
that the excess is probably being diverted to meth production. 
Mexican imports of pseudoephedrine, the primary meth precursor, 
have risen from almost 100 tons in 2001 to nearly 224 tons in 
2003. Mexican authorities estimate their legitimate demand for 
pseudoephedrine to be only 70 tons per year.\15\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \15\Id.
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    Without pseudoephedrine (or two other, similar chemicals, 
namely ephedrine and phenylpropanolamine) neither small meth 
lab cooks, nor Mexican drug traffickers, can manufacture this 
deadly drug. If there is one ``choke point'' in the 
international supply of meth, it is there.

      Squeezing the Balloon: Why U.S. Anti-Meth Strategy Needs an 
                        International Component

    Although many proposals for Federal anti-meth legislation 
have focused primarily on the domestic production of the drug--
in particular by cutting down on the domestic supply of 
precursors available for small meth labs--such measures will do 
little, by themselves, to cut down on the supply of meth. 
Merely tackling small clandestine labs is like squeezing a 
balloon--the meth supply will expand elsewhere to meet the 
demand. Mexican meth will more than replace the supply from 
small labs, unless Congress addresses the problem in a 
comprehensive way.
    The recent experience of Oklahoma illustrates this problem. 
Oklahoma passed one of the toughest laws regulating the 
domestic, retail sale of certain pseudoephedrine products, 
making it far more difficult for meth cooks to obtain the 
precursor chemical. Although the Oklahoma law apparently 
resulted in a significant reduction in local clan labs, there 
has been a corresponding increase in imported Mexican crystal 
meth to meet the demand.\16\ In other words, while laws 
focusing on local production are specifically vital to curtail 
the serious problem of the clean-up of local production sites, 
all other effects to the local community, including crime and 
child abuse, continue to remain once Mexican methamphetamine 
replaces local meth. As one U.S. Attorney in Georgia recently 
put it, ``The Mexico cartels will replace the meth supplied by 
local labs with double the volume, double the purity, and 
double the quality.''
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    \16\Suo, Steve, ``As Laws Dry Up Home Meth Labs, Mexican Cartels 
Flood U.S. Market,'' the Oregonian, Sept. 25, 2005.
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                            Recommendations

                               EXECUTIVE

    The executive branch of the Federal Government--in 
particular, the Departments of State and Justice--will have to 
take the lead in getting better control of the international 
supply of meth. This is because success will largely depend on 
three factors: first, whether multilateral or bilateral 
agreements can be reached with precursor chemical exporting and 
importing countries to track and control those chemicals; 
second, whether greater international pressure can be brought 
against meth ``superlabs'' around the world; and third, whether 
improvements can be made in stopping the trafficking of meth 
into the United States, particularly through the Southwest 
Border.
    First, the United States should seek to extend the reach of 
international drug control treaties to finished drug products 
made from pseudoephedrine, ephedrine, phenylpropanolamine and 
other precursor chemicals. This step would allow a truly 
comprehensive, international tracking system for precursor 
chemicals to take shape. It is imperative that the United 
States and other nations be able to follow the entire ``chain 
of custody'' of these chemicals, from manufacturer, through 
export, import, and wholesale market, through use in 
(legitimate) drug production, to retail. This will allow for 
greater transparency and help prevent the diversion of the 
chemicals during shipment or transfer. If an international 
agreement cannot be reached, or until one can be concluded, the 
United States should seek bilateral agreements with the major 
precursor chemical producing and importing nations.
    Second, the United States should seek to improve its 
bilateral and multilateral enforcement efforts against 
international ``superlabs''--particularly those in Mexico. 
Recent history provides some hope for success from such 
efforts. As described above, joint U.S.-Canadian law 
enforcement operations, coupled with tougher Canadian 
regulations (requested by the United States), significantly 
slowed the flow of precursor chemicals through Canada to the 
United States across the Northern border. The United States 
should seek, whenever possible, to duplicate those efforts in 
Mexico, by assisting the Mexican government in stopping the 
diversion of imported precursor chemicals, and in shutting down 
the ``superlabs.''
    Finally, reducing the flow of meth into the United States 
will require greater control of our borders, particularly the 
Southwest border with Mexico. Improved inspection and patrol 
technologies and facilities, and well as increased numbers of 
trained, capable customs inspectors and Border Patrol officers, 
will be critical to success. However, as our success on the 
Northern border showed, the most important tasks will be the 
dismantling of smuggling rings and improved regulations in the 
source zone.

                              LEGISLATIVE

    Congress cannot negotiate treaties (the Senate can only 
ratify an already-concluded treaty), but there is much that the 
legislative branch can do to assist and encourage the executive 
branch in its efforts. First, it is vital that Congress plug 
any gaps or loopholes in U.S. precursor chemical regulations. 
The United States should not be put in the position of asking 
other countries to enact laws or regulations that Congress 
itself will not pass. Congress should therefore follow the 
advice of the administration (contained in its National 
Synthetic Drugs Action Plan) and enact import and domestic 
production quotas for precursor chemicals (to ensure that only 
the legitimate demand for these chemicals is supplied, thus 
cutting back on any oversupply that might be diverted), and 
tighten domestic import and wholesale market regulations.\17\ 
In short, the United States must ``practice what it preaches'' 
to remain credible in the international arena.\18\
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    \17\See National Synthetic Drugs Action Plan, U.S. Department of 
Justice and Office of National Drug Control Policy, October 2004.
    \18\These changes were included in legislation introduced this year 
by Chairman Souder; see the ``Methamphetamine Epidemic Elimination 
Act,'' H.R. 3889.
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    Second, Congress should strengthen the existing 
international drug certification reporting requirements, to 
include a separate report on precursor chemical production and 
diversion. The existing drug certification procedures--which 
consist of an annual report by the State Department listing the 
major drug producing and transit nations, and potential 
reductions in U.S. foreign aid if those nations do not 
cooperate with the United States in enforcing international 
drug control obligations--have been a very useful tool in 
strengthening worldwide efforts against drug traffickers. At 
present, however, there is no separate treatment for the 
burgeoning problem of meth precursor chemical trafficking. The 
United States needs to hold precursor producing, exporting, and 
importing nations accountable for their efforts to stop the 
diversion of these chemicals to meth traffickers. Revising the 
existing certification procedures will help achieve that 
accountability.\19\
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    \19\This proposal was also included in H.R. 3889; it was also 
approved by the House of Representatives on July 19, 2005 as part of 
the ``Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Years 2006 and 
2007,'' H.R. 2601. As stated by Representative Tom Lantos, the 
provision is intended to ``persuade [such nations] to cooperate fully 
with us and end this abhorrent trade [in methamphetamine].'' 
Congressional Record, H6045 (July 19, 2005).
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    Finally, Congress can help the administration guard our 
borders against meth and other drug traffickers by increasing 
appropriations for border technology, inspectors, patrol 
agents, and investigators. Although merely throwing money at 
the Southwest border problem will not solve it, judicious 
application of new resources can greatly help our national 
efforts to protect the borders and ports of entry from criminal 
smugglers of all kinds.

                               Conclusion

    An effective response to the methamphetamine epidemic must 
address both its international and domestic aspects; it is not 
enough simply to deal with local symptoms of the problem. With 
so much of our Nation's meth supply coming from outside the 
country, Congress and the administration need to find ways to 
engage the international community to reduce that supply.
    But there is hope; the supply of meth can be reduced, and 
dramatically, if the United States and other key nations work 
together to bring the supply of precursor chemicals (like 
pseudoephedrine) under control. Although that task may not be 
easy, policymakers owe it to local law enforcement agencies, 
communities, and families to bring this deadly scourge to an 
end.

                                 
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